Substance Use Among Young Adolescents in HIV-Affected Families: Resiliency, Peer Deviance, and Family Functioning

Abstract

This study examines the association of risk and protective factors with substance use among 77 early adolescents (11–15 years old) with an HIV-infected parent who were interviewed in 2000–2001 in the South Bronx, a HIV high-prevalence area of New York City. The subjects were 49% female, 53% African American, and 30% Hispanic; mean age was 13 years old. A face-to-face interview was used to administer a battery of instruments representing community, family, peer, and resiliency factors. Forty percent reported ever using tobacco, alcohol or drugs; 71% were aware of their parent's HIV seropositivity. An age-adjusted path analytic model was constructed which showed : 1) family functioning predicted resiliency (a composite measure of psychological adjustment and personal competencies); 2) positive community factors and resiliency predicted less affiliation with deviant peers; and 3) poorer family functioning and affiliation with deviant peers predicted substance use. These results underscore the need for interventions that address social influence factors among vulnerable early adolescents with HIV-positive parents.

Keywords:

• HIV
• adolescents
• substance use
• family
• resiliency

Additional information

Notes on contributors

ANDREW ROSENBLUM

Andrew Rosenblum, Ph.D., is the Director of the Institute for Treatment and Services Research at the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI). He has conduced addiction research with various at-risk populations (e.g., homeless, sex workers, transgendered women, and cocaine-using methadone patients) with various comorbidities such as HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases, mental illness and chronic pain.

STEPHEN MAGURA

Stephen Magura, Ph.D., C.S.W. is Deputy Director at NDRI. He has designed and directed clinical trials, treatment outcome studies, health services research, social epidemiology studies, HIV prevention research and policy analysis as related to drug addiction. He has published over 100 articles and authored/edited several books and special journal issues on outcome evaluation and clinical trials.

CHUNKI FONG

Chunki Fong, M.S. serves as a director of data management & analysis for the Institute of Treatment and Services Research at NDRI. With his background in statistics and computer science, he conducts research and data analysis and provides data and technical support for various substance use projects in the Institute.

CHARLES CLELAND

Charles Cleland, Ph.D., is a quantitative social psychologist and a graduate of New School University. Dr. Cleland has worked on a number of studies funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted at NDRI. Recently, Dr. Cleland's work has focused on the effectiveness of 12-Step groups for the dually-diagnosed and the role of motivation and other psychosocial factors in substance abuse. In addition to his work at NDRI, Dr. Cleland is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department of New School University, where he teaches multivariate statistics.

CHRISTINE NORWOOD

Christine Norwood, B.A., is founder and executive director of Health People, a decade old community based organization in New York City that combines intensive training of low-income HIV-positive and HIV-affected peer educators with comprehensive staff support and guidance in the delivery of outreach, advocacy, prevention and support services. Ms. Norwood was director for the first New York City AIDS conference for and by women (1987), has received several honors for her community AIDS prevention activities and was the director of communications at the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation.

DORIS CASELLA

Doris Casella, MEd, is a trained family therapist and has been working in that capacity in the field of AIDS for the past 15 years. At Health People she is director of Family Services. Ms. Casella has conducted workshop and seminars on at-risk families at various municipal hospitals and community-based organizations. She was training director on a multi-site program that investigated mother-infant HIV transmission and infant seroconversion.

JENNIFER TRUELL

Jennifer Truell, M.A., graduated from St. Johns University in Queens, New York. Ms. Truell worked for three years as a Research Associate for the Peer Mentoring program and prior to that she worked in a research capacity at a large drug treatment program. She is currently a research assistant for a stem cell study at the Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah, GA.

PHYLLIS CURRY

Phyllis Curry, holds a B.A. in communications from Queens College in Queens, New York. During Ms. Curry's 15 year tenure at NDRI she has worked on several community research projects dealing with AIDS, crime and substance abuse. She is currently the Assistant Project Director for the Peer Mentoring project.